Coach Philbin: I Think We Are Faster As A Football Team

Head Coach Joe Philbin speaks with reporters following the team's practice on Wednesday, in which the team focused heavily on the red zone. Watch for Philbin's comments on Dion Jordan, Jonathan Martin and the overall increase in team speed in 2013.

(Opening Statement) –“Today was our red zone day, we met as a ball club last night, and obviously our defense had a great year in the red zone last year finishing first in the league, offensively we were 13th, so we set high standards here, it’s going to be a challenge for our defense to maintain that, or to even improve upon that performance, but I thought we had a good start to it today, good balance on both sides of the ball, I think there were some plays made on both sides. It’s our longest practice of the year. Our strength and conditioning staff did a real nice job getting our guys ready to go.

(On evaluation of Jonathan Martin ) –“We saw a lot of progress, we saw developments there. His technique is good, he needs to work on his punch a little bit better, the consistency of the punch, but I thought overall he played well.

(On how much better Jonathan Martin will be with an offseason to prepare ) –“He had five games roughly that he played at left tackle last year, so he needs to have frequent snaps – inaudible – but we’re expecting a lot.”

(On what he is telling players for the first day off) –“Rest. No seriously, hydrate, rest, take care of their bodies. We got a lot of lot of work in, but we’ve got a ton of work left to do. I mean they have to take care of their bodies, if they need to they have to be in here getting their little aches and bumps and bruises that everybody has during training camp taken care of.”

(On if he wants them to stay in the playbook on their rest day) – “Yes, today’s world is so different, they have everything at their fingertips. They have every rep of practice film at their fingertips. They’ve got their IPads, they’ve got text, the information that the old fashion playbook was in there, so they have everything they need to improve, but really primarily they should rest and take care of their bodies. That’s their ticket, their body, and you want to make sure they’re healthy moving forward into training camp.”

(On if he’s comfortable with depth of the offensive line) – “Not necessarily, I don’t know that I’m comfortable with the depth of any position yet. We’re still in that initial phase of camp, still a lot of teaching going on, not overly concerned with who’s getting a rep against who at this point in time. We’re more concerned about the volume of work that we can get done, the amount of things we can teach, get a look at it on the practice field, then go back and reinforce some of the things in the meeting room. We haven’t really gotten to that stage yet, but I don’t know that I’m comfortable at a lot of positions yet.”

(On if he gets high or low on players through day four based on performances) – “We call that, instant evaluation, yea obviously it happens to all of us. One guys makes a particular play or gets a sack or makes a diving catch, it certainly grabs your attention, but you’ve got to look deeper. You’re looking for consistency, somebody who can produce over a period of time. There’s no doubt that it’s a natural reaction.

(On how much faster is this team than last years) – “I think we are faster as a football team, I think our play speed, it’s still a little bit early in camp to get a real good feel and to compare it to a year ago as to what it’ going to be this year, but I think it has the potential to be a very fast team. We talk about play speed and decisiveness much more than like a 40 yard dash, but its showing up on tape no question.

(On update on injuries today to Cameron Marshall and Jamar Taylor) – “I don’t comment on injuries and never have, so unless we have to and league rules require us to, we won’t.”

(On the dynamic of the kicking competition) – “As you know, we’ve charted every kick, we know the percentages from the offseason, we know the percentages from this phase so far and part of its going to be that, but it’s going to be just like anything else, there has to be an overall gut instinct as to who’s going to be the best kicker for this football team. We have two excellent candidates, they’re working their butt off, both guys have exceptional work ethic, so it should be a great competition.”

(On what he’s seen when they both are together) – “I mean those specialists are a very dedicated group, all of those guys. Brandon (Fields), John Denney, both the kickers they work extremely hard, they have excellent leadership characteristics as specialists. It’s exactly what you’re looking for. When you go to bed, you’re not worried about those guys not preparing, not giving their best effort, not doing everything they can to reach their potential, it’s an excellent group.”

(On what he’s seen form John Jerry during camp after 4 days) – “Biggest thing that I’ve been looking for him to improve, really in both phases, is his second step, be it in the run game or the passing game. I think he’s done some good things, he’s had some quality one on one reps. I’m usually not there when it happens live on the field. I’m watching upstairs and I think he’s doing some good things, and he’s performing well, he really needs to get that consistency.”

(On how Lance Louis is being hurt by not playing) – “Players want to practice, and coaches want players to practice, and he’s going to get a fair, honest evaluation when he’s physically capable.

(On evaluation of Dion Jordan after yesterday’s practice) – “I thought he was moving around well yesterday, he’s picking things up relatively well. He’s got a good knack good instinct, football wise, and we’re exposing him to a lot, we’re throwing a lot at him, special teams wise, defensively, so far so good.

(On breaking up the tight knit special teams unit.) – “We told the players on the first day of the meetings, that our job and my job with the staff’s is to play the best players and there’s not going to be any favoritism. I think every player deserves that, so that’s what we will do.

(On if he misses two a day practiceas) – “Not necessarily, I think it’s a good schedule, its beneficial for the coaches and players, I like the way our training camp is set up, we have an opportunity to teach what we want to teach, we have an opportunity to go on the practice field, and then come off the field and go over the corrections and move on to the next phase, so I think it’s worked well for staff and players.